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I thought I would share some very early observations about my new X5 35i, particularly in comparison to my prior 2008 X5 3.0i.

1) The new X is much, much, much more responsive when coming off a dead stop. When I step on the pedal it almost surges. My old X seemed to labor in the same situation.

2) The transmission is smoooooooth. This has noticably improved the way the car feels when cruising along an in-town road, haven't done any real highway driving, but assume it will be great there also.

3) Engine sound (from outside the X) takes some getting used to. I thought something was wrong initially when I heard the engine while inspecting the X at the dealer. However, inside the cabin, noise is nil.

4) I love, love, love the bigger wheels and tires. Since I'm a girl, it's hard for me to put into real auto terminology, but the new X feels heavier and more stable as it sits on the road. Also, I can feel the new X sitting up higher than my old one - I know, it's only a couple inches - but I really can tell the difference.

5) The Oyster Nevada leather seats are everything I hoped for, so supple and the color is very beautiful. I also sense that the contour seats are less rigid than in my old X. I was torn about ordering the contours again since I found the side thigh bolsters too hard in my old X. They actually banged me (and worse for men) right in the ying-ying. I find the new ones to be less rigid and the seats more comfortable.

6) There were some initial flaws that I missed at the dealer, but am now trying to resolve. 1) an 8 inch scratch in the plastic panel that runs along the bottom of the doors where runningboards would go, 2) a nick in one of the wheels which I noticed while Blackfire protecting it. Small but really makes me mad. 3) an imperfection in the clear coat on one of the doors. Very, very small - the size of a pin head and 4) a nice scratch in the plastic front license plate mount. Hopefully I can get all these things resolved. Not sure exactly what they will do about the wheel, but I assume the rest will be pretty easy to remedy.

All in all, I'm thrilled with the new ride and happy that I did the upgrade. Now, time for me to go back to obsessing about keeping the Black Sapphire pristine....

I seem to have the same gene defect as you about taking care of my vehicles. I picked mine up yesterday and drove home in a massive rain storm and parked into the garage. I am really stoked about my first BMW, really. I plan to read the manuals as to get familiar with everything. First time in my life I had trouble finding "Park" and "Reverse". By the end of the week things will be better.

I seem to have the same gene defect as you about taking care of my vehicles. I picked mine up yesterday and drove home in a massive rain storm and parked into the garage. I am really stoked about my first BMW, really. I plan to read the manuals as to get familiar with everything. First time in my life I had trouble finding "Park" and "Reverse". By the end of the week things will be better.

Enjoy the new experience. I remember getting the shifter layout which I initially thought was counter-intuitive. Now I'm so used to it that I have trouble when I drive the other car in my garage! As for obsessing about the maintenance, my previous X was Titanium Silver and virtually carefree, except for the BMW Brake Dust Factor. Not sure which color you bought, but I'm bracing myself for ALOT more washing and shining with my new black X. Oh well. I wanted a change after 3 silver SUVs in a row, and loved the Oyster leather so I went with the Black. It will give me something to do with my weekends! Enjoy your new ride!

Shel, nice post. I was wondering if you would notice much difference between your '09 and the new one. Glad to see that you found it worthwhile to trade. Good luck and I hope it will be trouble free for you.

The only annoying thing I have with my wife's X5 is a creaking sound coming from the front passenger door seal.

I do agree that the transmission is smooth as butter. But the power in the 35i is just okay though, just good enough to make the X5 a little bit fun to drive. Maybe I'm just spoiled by my M3

The gas mileage is also average. My wife is now getting around 18mpg with combined city and highway driving. The car uses a lot of gas accelerating 5000lbs from a dead stop. It's also hard to drive the transmission in manual mode... too many gears to go through.

I am in the market for a titanium silver w nevada black interiror (aluminum trim). I can't wait to get one. I plan on January or Feb. Any ideas on lowest possible price? The only option I want is the 3rd row seat. Thanks!

Hmm...I love the sound of the diesel engine...I wonder if they have the same decibel level.

I'm gonna piggy back in your thread too...my observations:

1) iDrive system is really nice and easy to use imo...I've ready grumblings of the past iDrive sytems, but I find the 2011 pretty easy to use. I'm getting use to the voice commands (the syntax), but so far I really like it.
2) Sound System, Radio: I upgraded to Premium Sound. While I don't know what the standard sound is like, the Premium Sound is nice. For the radio, I wish there was a "volume level indicator"...such as letting me know what the current volume is on a scale of 1-30. One nice feature I like is that everytime you start the X5, it normalizes the volume (to what level who knows since there's no indicator). A lot of the time I'll blast the radio and shut off the engine. Then go to work or whatever, then get back in and start the car....the audio would be at the same level I left it at and blare on start-up...my wife hates that a lot. The normalization on start up is really nice, especially if we're lugging around a baby.
3) Garage Door Opener - the universal garage door opener is on the rear view mirror...I have a pet peeve about finger prints and stuff on my rear view mirror. It has to be immaculate and if someone fat fingers the garage door, there's a chance to smudge it! It hasn't happened yet.....but I'm sure it will someday. I also hate having the mirror moved and there is the chance of that since the buttons are there.
4) PDC - does it only turn on when put into reverse? Sometimes when head parking in first, I like to know how far the car is from the wall...I don't like my butt hanging out! Maybe it'll just take some getting use to on how far the front is.
5) Sunroof - it has that awesome automatic weather spoiler that pops up when you're driving....but is it just me or does it create a dopplar like effect? When I have the radio on, the sound is choppy because of the sunroof.
6) The 214's. - definitely a bumpy ride when hitting potholes. Also, they are a bitch to clean. I had to buy 2 different size brushes because one was too big to fit into the upper portion of the "Y" spoke. But the staggered wheels and contrast with the Sparkling Bronze looks so gooooood.

Mentioned before, but I wish there was a sunglass compartment, and cellphone compartment other than using the arm compartment.